Scrapbooking + Blogging = Scrapblog

Now, this is not a Michigan-based company, but the premise is too intriguing not to share. Scrapblog combines elements of scrapbooking (including themes, stickers, and other graphics) with blogging. You get to create as many scrapblogs as you want for the low, low price of . . . free! People in my family love to scrapbook and from what I have seen with the tour that Scrapbook provides you can do a lot of the same work as you would with a physical scrapbook. Interested? Head on over to Scrapblog today and get started.

Thanks to Mike Wendeland's blog for the heads up on Scrapblog.

Audio Slideshow of Workers Picking Strawberries

The Lansing State Journal has an audio slideshow of workers picking strawberries at Felzke's Strawberry Farm. You can watch the slideshow here. If you want to know how your strawberries get from the field to your local produce stand or farmers' market you should check this out. It is just under a minute long and does not take long for the page to load. I found it interesting to learn that the workers get paid $2.75 for every eight-quart flat of strawberries they pick. Once the berries are cleaned and sorted they are then sold at the strawberry farm and area farmers' markets for $2.75 per quart.

I have picked strawberries and it is an excellent recipe for aching knees and a sore back. I don't remember how long it took my wife and I to pick eight quarts, but I am sure it was at least half an hour. At that pace (with both of us picking) we would have each earned $2.75 an hour. Obviously these workers work much faster than we did because they have to in order to make a living.

All-in-all, it is a very nice tribute to the hard work that brings Michigan produce to our tables. It reminds me of the saying that goes something like this, "you can't talk bad about a farmer with a mouth full of food."

Michigan Gas Prices Week of 6/19/06

Gas prices across Michigan are down this week to a statewide average of $2.809 for regular unleaded. That is about $.08 lower than last week's prices. Michigan gas prices are also down about $.06 from this time last month when the average price was $2.864. We filled up in Sturgis over the weekend for $2.63 a gallon for regular unleaded. Elsewhere along U.S. 12 we saw gas prices anywhere from $2.78 all the way up to $2.99 (in Jonesville at the BP station). I thought that prices would increase the closer we got to Michigan International Speedway with the big NASCAR race this weekend. It was a pleasant surprise to see gas prices hold steady and I was grateful to fill up for $2.63.

Gas price information courtesy of AAA's Fuel Gauge Report.

Video Clip From Tiger Stadium Documentary

"Stranded at the Corner" is the documentary that chronicles the demise of Tiger Stadium and the battle (which appears to be over) to decide what to do with the historic structure. I wrote about this documentary back in April here. The clip is about 2 1/2 minutes long. It shows how ridiculous the "security" is at Tiger Stadium, which the city of Detroit has been paying Mike Ilitch about $400,000 per year for along with any ongoing "maintenance." Anyone that has seen the recent pictures of Tiger Stadium knows that Mike Ilitch has not been doing maintenance. There are TREES growing in the stadium seating area for crying out loud! It is hard for me not to believe that this wasn't a flim-flam sham by Mike Ilitch to get more money out of Detroit without doing anything. Unfortunately, that is another story in itself that I will not go into here.

If the video player does not appear you can view the clip here.

Tiger Stadium Links

I have a few significant links related to Tiger Stadium that I thought I would share. Tiger Stadium information at wikipedia.org

Pictures and commentary on the demise of Tiger Stadium

Read and post your memories of Tiger Stadium

Aerial View on Google Maps. You can see just how poor the condition of the playing field is. What a shame.

Check out my previous posts on the fate of Tiger Stadium here.

Tiger Stadium to be Torn Down This Fall

All I can say is I am so glad that there will not be a Wal-Mart standing at the corner of Michigan and Trumbull. That being said, I feel as though the wind has been knocked from my chest to hear the finality of Tiger Stadium. We all knew (or we were about 99.99% sure) that Tiger Stadium was not going to see the light of day as a ballpark in the future. What we did not know was if anything would remain to show the rich history of "The Corner." According to Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's plan about 10% of the stadium may remain. The field, locker room, press box, and some of the seating would remain if this plan is approved. A ring of residential housing and shops would surround the field. A historic salvage consultant will be evaluating what parts of the stadium and seating could be sold to the public (Yes! Sign me up for a couple of seats!) as a form of fundraising.

Say so long, to Tiger Stadium this fall. The next baseball game you will see played there will probably be a Little League game as that is what planners are going to gear it towards. How lucky would those kids be?

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Numerous memories and thoughts are flickering through my mind. I just read about this in the Detroit Free Press and have yet to fully process the news. So, I will end this post with some random histories and memories of Tiger Stadium.

• Lou Gehrig ended his playing streak at 2,130 games at what was then Briggs Stadium in 1939
• The championship seasons of 1968 and 1984
• Dramatic late season comeback of 1987
• Unfortunate loss to underdog Minnesota Twins in 1987 ALCS (Tigers last postseason action)
• The flagpole in-play just left of dead-center field
• 11,111 home runs with the final home run a grand slam by Robert Fick that hit the top of the roof in right field. It was also the last hit at Tiger Stadium
• Sign above the visitors' clubhouse used to read: "Visitors’ Clubhouse - No Visitors Allowed."
• They put in lights in 1948. The last old ballpark to do so before Wrigley Field.
• Ernie Harwell, longtime Tigers announcer